FROM TETRAPLOID-COMPLEMENTING MOUSE ıPS CELLS TO FULLY PLURIPOTENT PATIENT-SPECIFIC iPS CELLS

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells hold great promise for regenerative medicine and drug discovery. Since the invention of iPS technology, a central goal of this field has been to derive safer and better iPS cells for human research and therapeutic applications. From the first generation of iPS cells that were only partially pluripotent, through iPS cells that were capable of germ line transmission, to current iPS cells that can produce viable mice through tetraploid complementation, the accumulating knowledge gained through mouse models is expected to extend to humans for selection and characterization of fully pluripotent human iPS cell lines. Here we review the progress and strategies toward generating fully pluripotent iPS cells, discuss the potential of patient-specific iPS cells in disease modeling and drug discovery, and discuss the potential for novel gene therapy systems combined with iPS cell-based cell replacement therapy.